How To Ask for a Raise: Nonprofit Edition
Nonprofit employees are in the unique position where pressure from our managers, coworkers, funders, and society at large can make us feel like we shouldn’t ask for a raise. The scourge of the nonprofit sector, the overhead myth, seems to say that we should care enough about the mission of our nonprofit to accept less than industry standard wages.
Burnout is a real thing, and it comes from a number of places. When employees are handling their normal task load on top of being underpaid and overworked, you’ve got a recipe for burning out faster than workers in other industries.
Negotiating a raise can be scary, but with the right mindset and the right tools it can be manageable. Remember that your time and talents make you worth it, and getting fair compensation isn’t asking too much. As a sector, nonprofits should be leading the charge against underpaying working class employees.
Sable reached out to our network, ranging from executive directors, board members, hiring managers, and a healthy cross section of employees across the nonprofit sector to hear their advice on how to maximize your salary as a nonprofit employee. Below are tips that you can use as you prepare for your next salary conversation.
Make a habit of tracking your performance
Learn to love tracking metrics. Make it easy for your managers to advocate for you during salary discussions or promotions. It will help make the decision easier when it comes time to have a salary conversation. Come up with a set of metrics that you can track to show how good you are at your job - this will be specific to your role and your sector. Don’t make this decision in a vacuum: sometimes you’ll need to be direct with your managers and ask what metrics you’re going to be evaluated on, and what their expectations are. If they don’t know, gently guide them towards evaluating you on metrics that you’re confident you will do well on, and that will help your nonprofit. Overall, keeping a record of your achievements both qualitative (anecdotes, feel good accomplishments) and quantitative (accomplishments with metrics and numbers attached to them) and creating a portfolio of your successes is crucial.
Be able to tell the story of how good you are at your job, using the metrics that you tracked
Learn how to tell a story with data. Being able to track your performance compared to the expected or average performance, change over time, and the total “return on investment” that your nonprofit has secured by hiring you all help you when it comes time to discuss your compensation. The basics of telling a story with data are the following:
Set up the context for what you are about to show your audience
Make the data relatable using real world examples and benchmarks
Create visuals that illustrate one or two points - don’t overcomplicate the visuals
Include a conclusion that illustrates your point
Make your boss(es) look good
Start by developing an understanding between you and your team about what your goals and priorities are, and then work to achieve those goals. Most times, you can be as forward as to say “how can I make you look good” or, maybe less obsequiously “how can I help you?”. Bonus points if the goals you identify have quantifiable metrics that you can track, and will have a positive impact on the mission of your nonprofit.
Learn as much as you can about salaries that match your nonprofit’s industry, sector and size
Knowledge is power. Equip yourself with knowledge about how much people in similar situations are making. An easy way of quantifying the value that you bring to your nonprofit is by pointing to benchmarks across the sector. What are other nonprofits paying for similar roles? How does that compare to what they’re offering you? Most salary estimates provide a range; aim for the high end of that range and remain consistent. Start by gathering information about the compensation of people in roles comparable to yours by using sites like Indeed, Salary, Glassdoor, and your own professional network on LinkedIn. Sharing salary information with your coworkers is one way to make sure you’re being compensated fairly, and it’s a legally protected right that you have. We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again, in the United States it’s your right to share your salary information with your coworkers, and anyone trying to tell you otherwise doesn’t have your best interest in mind.
Consistently seek feedback and ask for your performance to be reviewed
One way to improve your performance and potentially earn a raise is to actively seek feedback from those in your professional sphere, such as your managers and direct reports. Getting input from those around you, including your managers and those that you manage is one strategy for improving your performance, and by extension, getting a raise. This serves to highlight aspects of your performance (both good and bad) that might not have been visible to you otherwise. It also creates a baseline for improvement, and allows you to track against this over time. It also shows your team how seriously you take your performance and that you’re willing to take steps to evaluate and improve your own performance.
Set clear goals, and outline a plan to achieve those goals
Set goals that have quantifiable outcomes. By that we mean identify a metric that objectively defines success. Maybe it’s a number of followers on a social media platform, a specific engagement rate, or a return on investment of an email campaign. Whatever metric you come up with, confirm with your team and your managers that this metric or outcome is important to your team. It’s also a good idea to develop one or more personal projects that carry your personal branding and rely on your skills to accomplish - all the better if these projects are net-new. Being able to point to a positive outcome in your organization and say “this didn’t exist until I worked on it” is one of the clearest ways of showing the value that you add to your organization.
Be confident and consistent with your ask.
This applies whether you’re interviewing for a position at a new organization, or working in a promotion at your current employer. It’s much more effective to initiate changes, establish expectations, or cultivate a reputation early on in the job seeking process, rather than later. Waiting too long can make it more challenging to alter your role or modify your nonprofit's perception of your worth. We recommend that from your first interview to your last, request a compensation package that reflects your education, experience, certifications, and the value you will bring to your nonprofit.
Become a lifelong student and a more valuable employee by focusing on skills, education, and certifications
Prioritizing learning and self development not only helps you in your day to day tasks, it makes you more marketable and a better addition to your nonprofit. Consider pursuing a certification program like a certification in nonprofit management, a scrum certification, or something relevant to your sector. Ask colleagues or trusted mentors if there are any skills or certifications that they recommend.
Build out your network and focus on relationships.
Cultivating relationships with your peers, the board of directors, donors, and the community your nonprofit serves will not only make your professional life more meaningful, it will make it easier for people in a position of power to fairly compensate you. This tip is a little more abstract than the others, so we’re including a few ideas here. Take the extra time to connect with your coworkers on LinkedIn and endorse them on skills that you’ve seen them demonstrate. Make your supervisor's job easier: if you don’t know how, just ask them. They should be happy to tell you. Be the manager that you wish you had: set clear expectations and invest in your direct report’s success. Develop a genuine interest in other people; don’t try and fake it, or they will know and it will be awkward for everyone. The short version is that people are more likely to help people that they like.
And there you have it. Best of luck with your salary negotiation, we’re wishing you the best!